The surgery Joel Embiid underwent on his fractured foot likely will hurt his stock in the 2014 NBA draft. ESPN analyst Chad Ford released his latest mock draft on Monday and projects Embiid to fall sixth to the Boston Celtics. Ford also believes the Cleveland Cavaliers will end up drafting Jabari Parker.
Embiid underwent surgery Friday on his fractured right foot. The surgery, which involved doctors inserting two screws into the navicular bone of his foot, is expected to sideline the 7-footer for four to six months, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
The foot surgery, along with Embiid's previous back injury, will likely cause him to fall out of the top three. Ford predicts Embiid to slip all the way to the sixth spot.
"...There's an increasing belief that (Celtics general manager) Danny Ainge won't let (Embiid) slide further," Ford wrote on Monday. "Ainge always has been a gambler and has always emphasized having great assets, and Embiid has the potential to be a franchise center, and there's no one else on the board that the Celtics are in love with."
Ford also mentioned the possibility of the Philadelphia 76ers or the Orlando Magic taking a gamble on Embiid with the third or fourth pick, respectively. Boston's No. 6 pick also has been mentioned in trade rumors, most notably with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Ford's past mock drafts, along with other mock drafts, once projected Embiid to be the No. 1 pick on Thursday. Now Ford has Parker leaping ahead of both Embiid and Andrew Wiggins and going first to Cleveland.
"Sources close to the Cavs told ESPN.com this weekend that the team is now leaning toward taking Parker with the No. 1 pick," Ford wrote. "However, it's far from a lock. ... One source said he thought Parker 'tanked' the workout."
The source, per Ford, said Parker would prefer to play in Milwaukee.
The NBA draft is on Thursday, June 26.
Ford's Top 10 (via ESPN):
1. Jabari Parker - CLE
2. Andrew Wiggins - MIL
3. Dante Exum - PHI
4. Noah Vonleh - ORL
5. Aaron Gordon - UTA
6. Joel Embiid - BOS
7. Julius Randle - LAL
8. Marcus Smart - SAC
9. Doug McDermott - CHA
10. Nik Stauskas - PHI
